Snowshoeing with a Park Ranger at Crater Lake

We wanted to visit Crater Lake National Park in Oregon before heading back to California, but we had to time it correctly as the NPS website stated that “nearly 50% of the time in the winter and early spring, storms completely hide the lake from view.” Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later!

As I was researching Crater Lake I read that the park has Ranger-led snowshoe walks on Saturday and Sundays during Winter and Spring. Neither one of us had ever been on snowshoes and we have had good experiences doing Ranger hikes so I booked us for the walk. Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later!

Crater Lake National Park

Of course, Crater Lake was beautiful. The contrast of the bright white snow and the deep blue lake was something else. The lake has a depth of 1,943 feet, a width of 4.5 to 6 miles, and a volume of over 5 trillion gallons which are all really large numbers, so see our picture to get a sense of scale. The wind was also really intense around the lake once you were in the viewing range. We immediately had to put on our gloves and neck warmers.

Snowshoe Ranger Walk

Space is limited for the Ranger-led snowshoe walk so a reservation is recommended. I was glad I made reservations because our walk was full and I heard others get turned away at the Visitor Center. This was an incredible value as there was no additional fee for the snowshoe walk beside the park entrance fee as the snowshoes are provided free of charge. I thought that was awesome especially since they charge $16 per day to rent snowshoes at the Rim Village Gift Shop.

At first, the snowshoes were very awkward and I was worried that the walk was going to be difficult but after a little while I almost forgot I had snowshoes on. The snowshoes have metal claw-like cleats that help you bite into the ice and walk up hills which were critical for a few sections of this walk. Our walk was just over one mile and our Ranger talked about the adaptations of the animals and plants so they can survive in the snowy climate. We saw one set of animal tracks on our walk which our Ranger believed belonged to the White Weasel.

At one point along our walk, we had to get down into the meadow so our Ranger encouraged us to slide down on our stomachs like a penguin. There was so much powder that sliding on your stomach was not that easy and you had to pull yourself most of the way. I wanted to slide down but unfortunately, I have an elbow injury that would have likely gotten worse so we decided to walk down. It was fun to watch the people that braved it and slid down on their stomachs. The last few people actually got going pretty good since the others in front cleared a nice path in the snow.

The walk ended at Crater Lake and we got some great pictures. Get additional details about the Ranger-led snowshoe walk here at the NPS website.

Crater Lake Weather

The weather can vary and change quickly at Crater Lake. We had originally booked the Saturday Ranger walk but as the weekend approached the weather report for Saturday was rain and overcast so I rescheduled for Sunday.

This turned out to be the right move as Sunday’s weather was amazing. It was clear and sunny, but also very cold. During our hike, it was around 26 degrees Fahrenheit before taking into account any wind chill. We hiked in our jackets and pants that we normally wear to ski/snowboard. I wore a top and bottom base layer while Penguin only wore a top base layer, gloves, sunglasses, beanies, neck warmers, thick wool socks, and our waterproof winter hiking boots. Don’t forget your sunscreen! I got a little chilly when we would stop and the Ranger would talk but not too bad given how cold it was with the wind chill. Next time I would wear my thicker snowboarding pants.

Camping Near Crater Lake

We stayed at the Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area Campground. It was about an hour's drive to Crater Lake and it was neat to see the scenery change to snow-covered as we went higher up in elevation. Only one loop of the campground was open and there were 6-8 other campers during our stay. We wanted to enjoy the sun and spend some time outside so we moved our laptops outside on the picnic table, brought out our heater, and enjoyed the great outdoors.

Campground Details:

Site: A33. This site was nice and long. We easily fit the motorhome and Jeep.
Price: $24/night
Hookups: Electricity only during the winter. The dump station at the entrance was open.

Thinking about visiting Crater Lake? We recommend the Ranger-led snowshoe walk. Just make sure to make reservations and get there early so you can get pictures of this beautiful lake. The weather can change so fast that by the time your walk is over the clouds could have rolled in.

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